supported by NATO, of which Turkey is a member.

Relations we can not.

1) Supporting coups is a terrible idea and done nothing good for our reputation around the world.
2) Turkey is a NATO member threatened by ISIS and the Syrian Civil War. Supporting a sudden, forced regime change and a possible threat to NATO forces at Incirlik is a terrible idea.

Both sides of the map. He allows weapons to flow for ISIS, while taking money and military support from us.

And I'm aware of Turkey's relationship with ISIS.

However, the history of coups in the Middle East is generally not one of stability and lasting peace.

This is something I'd forgotten altogether, but back in the liberal 1960s we passed a law, meant to help stabilize nations, that prohibits us from recognizing governments that attain power by coups.

If the coup had succeeded, the U.S. would have faced the crisis of not being able to deal with the government of a NATO ally, the problem of conducting air strikes out of Turkish bases, etc.

It's extremely indicative that many secularists were among those who took to the streets to protect their elective government from takeover by a military coup. If I'd known more about Turkey itself, instead of just the problems I've read about trends under the current president, I might have suspected that last night. It's been a couple decades since the last coup. One commentator said it was a shock, thought it couldn't happen any more.

Some Turks are alleging that this coup may have originated with an Erdogan foe who lives in the US, in PA.

Things are still VERY confusing, but Al Jazeera seems to have some good coverage: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/turkey-coup-attempt-reaction-world-160715215141043.html

Here is an Al Jazeera blog with the most recent updates: http://live.aljazeera.com/Event/TURKEY_COUP_ATTEMPT

I'm signing off for the evening though. I live in Europe and the last two evenings have been quite traumatic.

I was almost afraid to turn on the TV and to get on-line this am. Fortunately, it seems as if things have calmed.

This is the latest from the Al Jazeera coup attempt blog, which is constantly updated wrt the coup. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/turkey-prime-minister-coup-attempt-foiled-160716001125028.html

Morsi's ouster was deemed wrong but we fell short of sanctioning them.

This coup is against the further Islamisation of Turkish society. There are countless Muslims tired of this bullshit. I have several secular friends in the Middle East and they are cheering this on.

Anyone opposing the coup is complicit with the radical Islamic hardliners.

majority of Turks and even opposition foes did NOT support this attempted coup. Nor did the majority in the military, it seems, since the head of the armed forces was taken hostage by the coup plotters.

Nor do several Turks in the US support it. http://aa.com.tr/en/todays-headlines/muslims-in-us-protest-coup-attempt-in-turkey/608665

So you and your friends wish to substitute your judgments for theirs? And you consider those who support democracy, i.e., the will of the majority, to be radical hardliners? Having recently visited Turkey, I have seen with my own eyes that is NOT so.

I am no great fan of Erdogan and yes, there is too much corruption in his administration. He was a good PM, but not as good a President, and liberals in Turkey are wary - and very watchful - of what is happening in their country. But they are ALL Turks first and they want to continue their OWN democracy, which is a very healthy one, especially in the multicultural society that Turkey and its previous incarnations have been for centuries.